- Jun 8, 2004
- 3,210
- 64
In light of some of our recent discussions regarding Tookie Williams, and the Death Penalty, and so on, I thought I needed to put this question out there for our community.
Firstly, there is a group of young African people who deal with poverty, White Supremacy, and oppression, by starting SNCC, or the Black Panther Party, or an entire artistic cultural phenomenon like HIPHOP... They chose to be an ASSET to their community, if not the entire world... We say, this was our idea of changing the environment, and making it a better place to live... We were proactive and progressive, sometimes, even without the support of our own community - particularly our elders...
Secondly, there is a group of young African people who deal with their poverty, miseducation, and the very same White Supemacist oppression, by establishing street gangs, some of which lead to drug gangs, and then prison gangs. They turned oppression inward, and fought their communities, not the oppressor. We say this is NOT our idea, but the Oppressor's idea, the Willie Lynch Model...
What I am interested in is, what makes these two groups of people do what they do in choosing their directions, since they both grew up in the very same environment, went to the same terrible school systems, and were raised by parents from the same backgrounds, who likely taught them to have the same value systems as the child next door??? Since many of these people even know one another, and grew up as friends, why does one guy become an activist and the other a nihilist??? Are there choices being made here??? Are principles being applied here by each party?
In one part of the country, African Americans break dance, and in the other they're breaking each other's heads over turf... Someone tell me why this is??? Why are WE refusing to deal with these dichotomies??? Why do we not analyze them, and put them to use in changing our behavioral response to oppression, rather than lumping the good in with the bad, and saying White boy is responsible for the bad, and we are responsible only for the good?(smile!)
Listen, peops, lets take our brother Mr. Williams... I believe, that just as Stan Williams made a decision to turn his life around upon entering prison, he made the decision to establish the crips while he was outside, in the world. White man did not make the decision for Stan to be Stan in San Quentin's Death Row, nor Tookie out in the Hood... Stan Williams was too smart and too brilliant for White boys to be controlling his actions like that... Stan Williams was a leader of men, not a follower... And so, too, this is the case with far too many brothers whom our community makes excuses for...and this would include myself.
So, while I have reams of stuff I want to say on this, I don't want to defeat the purpose of having us do some serious analysis and inventory about ourselves... I am asking us why do we all seem to unify around the excuse that White man made us do something we didn't REALLY want to do? That if we had some OTHER choices and alternatives, we woulda chosen those alternatives???
Peace!
Isaiah
Firstly, there is a group of young African people who deal with poverty, White Supremacy, and oppression, by starting SNCC, or the Black Panther Party, or an entire artistic cultural phenomenon like HIPHOP... They chose to be an ASSET to their community, if not the entire world... We say, this was our idea of changing the environment, and making it a better place to live... We were proactive and progressive, sometimes, even without the support of our own community - particularly our elders...
Secondly, there is a group of young African people who deal with their poverty, miseducation, and the very same White Supemacist oppression, by establishing street gangs, some of which lead to drug gangs, and then prison gangs. They turned oppression inward, and fought their communities, not the oppressor. We say this is NOT our idea, but the Oppressor's idea, the Willie Lynch Model...
What I am interested in is, what makes these two groups of people do what they do in choosing their directions, since they both grew up in the very same environment, went to the same terrible school systems, and were raised by parents from the same backgrounds, who likely taught them to have the same value systems as the child next door??? Since many of these people even know one another, and grew up as friends, why does one guy become an activist and the other a nihilist??? Are there choices being made here??? Are principles being applied here by each party?
In one part of the country, African Americans break dance, and in the other they're breaking each other's heads over turf... Someone tell me why this is??? Why are WE refusing to deal with these dichotomies??? Why do we not analyze them, and put them to use in changing our behavioral response to oppression, rather than lumping the good in with the bad, and saying White boy is responsible for the bad, and we are responsible only for the good?(smile!)
Listen, peops, lets take our brother Mr. Williams... I believe, that just as Stan Williams made a decision to turn his life around upon entering prison, he made the decision to establish the crips while he was outside, in the world. White man did not make the decision for Stan to be Stan in San Quentin's Death Row, nor Tookie out in the Hood... Stan Williams was too smart and too brilliant for White boys to be controlling his actions like that... Stan Williams was a leader of men, not a follower... And so, too, this is the case with far too many brothers whom our community makes excuses for...and this would include myself.
So, while I have reams of stuff I want to say on this, I don't want to defeat the purpose of having us do some serious analysis and inventory about ourselves... I am asking us why do we all seem to unify around the excuse that White man made us do something we didn't REALLY want to do? That if we had some OTHER choices and alternatives, we woulda chosen those alternatives???
Peace!
Isaiah